Final Journey
by the shadow proves the sunshine
Summary: Peter comes home, important issues are discussed, and a sister is sought. . . and found, with the help of a note. May be seen as the sequel to "Reassurance".
1. Chapter 1

Final Journey

**Summary: **Peter comes home, important issues are discussed, and a sister is sought. . . and found, with the help of a little note.

Disclaimer: I do not own Peter, Susan, etc. Any recognizable characters.

Author's Note: This is a little short story in three parts. It's finished, so those of you accustomed to the long waits I sometimes have, no fear! I'll post part two and three over the course of this week. This story is part of the "Reassurance", "Lion's Roar" story line, taking place directly after "Reassurance", but you should be able to follow even if you haven't read the other two.

**Part One**

_And he said, __"There was a man who had two sons.__And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them.__Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living._

_-Luke 11-13, English Standard Version- _

"Peter!" The cry was unmistakably Lucy's. She rushed forward, seeming not to care or not to notice that he didn't have any free hands to catch her. As she ran into him, he gave a little "mmph" as he fell backwards, but nothing could diminish the smile on his face.

"It's about time you've come home!" Lucy beamed up happily. Lucy and Edmund had gone to meet Peter at the train station, and their timing had been perfect. For just as they started walking Lucy had spotted Peter.

Peter returned Lucy's embrace, then reached around to include Edmund. Edmund didn't protest, but he didn't respond either, just sat there and accepted the hug from his brother and king. Edmund had never been one for public displays of affection, but inside he really did cherish the hug and both the brothers knew it.

Lucy pulled Peter over to the nearest bench. "Did you have a fine time?" She asked.

Peter snorted. "Well, if studying Plato constitutes a fine time…" However, the jovial tone in his voice softened his words.

Reaching into the back pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a well-worn book. Edmund, upon peering at it, realized it was the bible he had given Peter before he left.

"I read it." He stated simply.

"So. . ."Edmund started, wanting to get all the facts first. Lucy, however, had other plans. Once again she threw herself at her brother.

"Oh, Peter, you found him!" She exclaimed. He laughed and gave a nod to the affirmative. "Yes, Lu, I did."

The delight on all three faces was genuine. Lucy wrapped her arms even tighter around Peter in an embrace, her face shining like the bright sun on a warm summer day. In a rare display of affection, Edmund seized Peter by the shoulders, drawing him close as he whispered into Peter's ear, "I'm so glad."

"As am I," Peter replied as the siblings all tried to distangle themselves. Peter and Edmund each grabbed a suitcase as they led Peter to the car, where Mr. Pevensie was waiting. As he clasped Peter's shoulders, he couldn't help realizing how much older Peter seemed to be. His children always seemed to be older than their years.

"Susan?" Peter asked tentatively when they were all comfortably squished in the backseat of the car. Edmund frowned and Lucy shook her head. "She's at a luncheon with some of her friends," Lucy replied.

Peter sighed, leaning his head against the backseat. It wasn't so much that Susan hadn't come to the welcome him as to the reason behind her absence. However, this past summer, even before he left, Susan had changed. She seemed to be abandoning her family, Narnia, and at the worst- Aslan. Peter resolved, then, at that moment, to seek Susan out. He did not want his family to be a divided one. The gaze that Edmund fixed Peter with told him there would be much to discuss, but now was not the time nor the place. Today, they were celebrating Peter's homecoming.

The three siblings all fell out of the car together, each of them laughing. Feeling much younger than his age, Peter gently pushed Edmund out of his way with a suitcase. The two brothers made a great show of racing for the door, and once they got inside, they both collapsed on the carpeted floor. Both of them were laughing too hard to remain standing. Lucy was right behind them, laughing at their antics. Mr. Pevensie was shaking his head in disapproval, but the smile on his face showed he really didn't mind.

"I come home just to welcome you and this is how you act?" A soft, but steely voiced asked. Peter sobered instantly, but a small, different type of smile graced his face as he looked into the frustrated eyes of his sister. Peter rose and tried to embrace Susan, but she subtly turned away.

"Honestly, Peter, will you ever grow up? I'm late, and I'm leaving. I'm glad your home."

The eldest Pevensie child stood, stunned by this turn of events. The Susan he left at the beginning of the Summer had been distant and lost, but he hadn't been expecting to find a stranger in Susan's place.

"How long has she been like this?" He asked Edmund later, when they were unpacking Peter's suitcases.

Edmund's countenance turned darker and angry. "About a month," He replied, tossing one of Peter's shirts into the hamper with a bit more force than was necessary.

"Peter?" In the span of a few seconds, Edmund had turned from murderous to sorrowful.

"Hmm?" By this time, Peter's suitcase had been empty and he was sprawled on his bed, his eyes staring up at the blank ceiling.

"It gets worse."

At this, Peter sat straight up, his eyes wide. "What do you mean?" He asked, thunderous, but Edmund knew the emotion wasn't directed at him.

"Peter, she's. . . she's forgotten."

----

Susan wasn't prepared for anyone to still be awake when she returned home, so she blinked in surprise when the hall light was still burning dimly.

"Good evening," The calm, unmistakable voice came from the living room. Susan stiffened, preparing herself for the inevitable encounter. Her soft steps traced the path to the living room.

Peter sat in the large armchair, an unopened book beside him on the table.

"Goodnight, Peter," Her voice was kind and careful, but even to her own ears it sounded fake.

"Susan. . ." His voice was strong and demanding, yet the pleading anguish beneath his words shone through. It was a contradictory command to listen and a beg to hear him out, and Susan found she couldn't ignore either of them.

"I miss you," Peter said simply, gently, and they both knew he wasn't talking about his recent absence. When his words fell silently into the night, he started again.

"Do you really believe what you're said? That Narnia was just a game? Do you really believe that, Susan?"

"Goodnight, Peter," Was all Susan said.

---

Peter struggled to blink back tears as he climbed the stairs. The feeling in his heart could not have been heavier. Queen Susan the Gentle was deceased. All that remained in her place was a slivery shadow, a faint outline of what once was.

In a rather undignified manner, Peter kicked his shoes off and simply fell on to his bed, which was incredibly comfortable and . . . moving? Peter felt something beneath him give the blankets a mighty tug, causing Peter to fall off the bed, hitting his head on the hard floor. Suddenly, Edmund's head popped up from beneath the blankets, rubbing a soft spot on his neck.

"Honestly¸Peter, don't you at least look at something before you fall on top of it?"

Peter held the side of his head, trying to ward off the headache he knew would be coming.

"I don't usually expect to fall on something alive in my own bed. What are you doing here?"

Edmund shrugged as if the answer should be obvious. "You've been away for a while. You're upset about a Susan. You would have ended up in my room anyway. I just thought I'd save you the trouble."

Peter gave his first genuine chuckle of the evening and nodded in agreement. "How smart you are. Though probably not the brightest idea to make sure you were completely hidden. No broken bones?"

Edmund snorted. "Like your weight could crush Lucy's bones. You've outgrown your muscles, my dear brother, I think."

Peter just shook his head, giving a slight chuckle. Playfully, he pushed Edmund over the bed and made room for himself. Within seconds, the room fell dark and silent again. Gazing up into the ceiling, a thousand thoughts ran through both Edmund and Peter's minds. Though they couldn't see each other, they were wearing mirrored expressions. For both were concerned for Susan's well-being.

---

Susan Pevensie had slipped away into her own room gracefully, but now that she was alone she let down her guard. She studied herself in the mirror- how she had changed! She had always been called beautiful, but in this world, none could compare to her. She knew Lucy hated when she wore the make-up; she said Susan was prettier without it, that her natural glow shined through. Susan, however, was certain that the make-up made her look more mature, sophisticated, and in a way, even more normal. And Susan had always been one for fitting in.

Even so, Susan could see the wear she was inflicting on herself as she gazed in the mirror. She felt like an intruder peeking into someone else's soul, but when she looked at her own eyes, the lighting changed and everything seemed less important. What caught her attention was the sense of longing behind her eyes.

Shaking her head at her perceived silly mentality, Susan hung up her coat, put her shoes perfectly in their place, and delicately washed her face. Smiling at her memory of the night, Susan changed into her bedclothes and made her way to her bed by the window. As the gentle breeze floated in, a rustle on her bed caught her attention. Turning the lamp on, she found a note:

_Susan,_

_Please, hear me out. It's in here, all that you've been longing for since we returned. Say what you want, but I know somewhere you remember. Please, just try and read. You'll find peace. Let us take our final journey together, as a family. I want you to be a part._

_Love, _

_Peter _

Beneath the thin sheet of yellow-lined paper sat a thick, worn, leather bible. Susan picked it up gently and rustled through the pages. With a feeling of regret, she laid it on the nightstand. Maybe one day she would give in to Peter's request, but right now it was simply too much for her to bear. She wasn't as strong as her siblings were. One day, she said to herself in her mind, one day she would do all Peter asked.

Susan didn't know why, but as she shoved the bible away, tears brimmed in her eyes.


	2. Part Two

**Author's Note: **I told you the wait would be short! Part two is quite a bit shorter than part one, but hopefully it is just if not more effective at what I was trying to convey.

**Disclaimer: **If I own nothing, etc.

**Part Two**

_I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you._

_-Luke 15:18, New International Version_

_-Fifteen Years Later-_

Susan Pevensie sat in the old chair she had saved from her parent's house- it was old and breaking and uncofomortable, but she loved it. To her, it still felt and smelled of her family.

She had come along way since that time. She was almost content with her life now. For a while, after the wreck, she had been a complete mess, unable to do anything except cry. She sat in the same chair for three days, stared blankly out the window, and barely moved. She didn't eat again until the funeral. It was a low point.

But since then, she had learned she could go on, though three pieces of herself died on that train. She had settled down a little after that, stopped with all the parties and most of the social events. She met Michael Evan, got married and started a family. They had their own house- it was neither large nor extragavent, but it was what they needed and it was comfortable for them.

She had given birth to two boys. One, who she had fought to be named Peter, clearly took after Michael with his golden hair and quiet sensitivity. He was not very much like how her older brother had been in character, but he was still a rather easy child to raise and he did like to help her out with his brother as often as he could.

The other one also had the looks from Michael's side of the family, except his eyes. His eyes were as deep and soulful as Edmund's eyes had been. They had named him James after Michael's father. He was much more playful and loud than Peter was, but they complemented each other perfectly. Every once in a while, Susan would look into James' eyes and startled herself because they were so like Edmund's. She only wished her brothers could have seen her two little boys.

Susan knew that Peter and Edmund- and Lucy too, for that matter- had disapproved of her behavior before the train wreck, but she believed that if they had seen where her life went, they would have been happy for her. Michael was a good husband, and her sons, while still mischevious little boys, were rather well-behaved.

Still, every once in a while, the normalcy of her life shook her. It was on those nights, like the current one, where Susan would sneak out of the bedroom and make her way to the sitting room. She would sit in that old family chair and just think.

Tonight, though, she had gone into the hall closet, reached into the very back, between the cobwebs and Michael's old school certificate, and pulled out the bible Peter had given to her. Before the accident, Susan had glanced at it often, wanting to open it but being almost scared. After the incident, she couldn't bear to look at it except to pack it.

Now she sat in the chair, quietly, tracing the cover of the book with her finger. She opened the first page and pulled out the slip of paper she knew was still in there. Even though she had it memorized, she read the note again:

_Susan,_

_Please, hear me out. It's in here, all that you've been longing for since we returned. Say what you want, but I know somewhere you remember. Please, just try and read. You'll find peace. Let us take our final journey together, as a family. I want you to be a part._

_Love, _

_Peter _

As the tears fell from her eyes, Susan knew now she must do what she should have done years ago. That night, she finally started reading and releasing what she had kept inside her for so long.


	3. Part Three

**Author's Note: **I wasn't planning on posting this until later today, but it's done and I thought, "Why not?" So here it is, a little bit early. It's a short conclusion, but I think it works with the rest of the story.

**Part Three**

_But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him._

_-Luke 15:20, New International Version-_

"Can I help you, Mrs. Evan?" The nurse asked, the pity dripping through her voice. Susan shook her head, for the pain in her lungs made talking a very difficult task.

"Peter said he would be back by as soon as he could. He has a class right now, you know." The nurse said with as much sweetness she could muster.

"Does he?" Susan rasped out. She was lucky that she still had most of a good functioning brain even in her last days, but her memory was not what it once was. She remembered her life, her family, her past experiences, the fact that James' birthday was coming up, but the little things had been slipping for awhile. When her sons could and couldn't visit, when she had appointments, where she sat objects down.

Susan closed her eyes, trying to find all the strength she could. If it was not for her sons, she would have given up long ago. She was ready to go home and leave England behind- her brothers, her parents, her sister, and her husband had all gone before her. She was not afraid of death- indeed, she welcomed it. But she wanted to spend as much time with her sons while she could. She knew what it was like to feel like an orphan.

A thin smile crossed her lips as she remembered what it would be like to be around her family. Faintly, she could remember Peter's note. How she had memorized it! For so long, it was her only life line. She read it in her mind:

_Susan,_

_Please, hear me out. It's in here, all that you've been longing for since we returned. Say what you want, but I know somewhere you remember. Please, just try and read. You'll find peace. Let us take our final journey together, as a family. I want you to be a part._

_Love, _

_Peter _

Peter was right, as usual. Everything she had longed for she found the answer to in the bible. She found her peace. Unfortunately, they were not able to take their final journey as family. But now, several years later, Susan knew she was making the same journey.

She closed her eyes, willing this breath to not be her last as she wanted to see her sons again. But if it was, it was time to set out on this final adventure. Her final journey. Or, she thought with a sense of belonging, her first true journey.


End file.
